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Game News Shovelware Alert: Realms of Arkania HD Remake released in unplayable state

Earlier this week, a recently joined user by the name of Bobbles informed us that Crafty Studios' Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny HD Remake had received some kind of early release in Germany. Here's what the game's German players found out:

Problems with the gold version according to various German forums:

- no intro
- no battle sounds
- all weapon models looks like crossbows
- most NPCs look like skeletons
- trying to cast a spell gives the message "spell not implemented"
- snow textures are broken
- walking sounds are placeholders/unbearable to listen to

The release day patch was pushed out early on Saturday at 10 p.m. local time (at least they're dedicated!), but it doesn't fix most of these issues - only weapon models and walking sounds have been completely fixed. The game is still unplayable and crashes frequently with messages like this:​

- button hotspots aren't centered on the actual buttons
- map turns black indoors, stays black when going outdoors (workaround available)
- Many NPCs have holes in their heads
- only one save game slot with fixed name
- save game (singular) randomly deletes itself
- heroes in-game don't look like they do in the editor
- you start with infinite money, which randomly resets to normal during gameplay
- random events and random battle on the overland map don't seem to work
- hard crash trying to enter Daspota

The lead dev has announced a "new" release day patch for Tuesday, though it will obviously only represent a few days' work of bugfixing by a small studio... probably not a good 0-day purchase.​

I'm so depressed. Came here on a whim while I wait for the game to install (bought it before it came out). Why was I so stupid to purchase this? I was happily enjoying Shadowrun Returns and thought, "yay, another tactical, turn-based RPG, and heck, I never did play the originals when they first came out! I'll have some faith and support this kind of game with a pre-purchase!"

I'm so depressed. Came here on a whim while I wait for the game to install (bought it before it came out). Why was I so stupid to purchase this? I was happily enjoying Shadowrun Returns and thought, "yay, another tactical, turn-based RPG, and heck, I never did play the originals when they first came out! I'll have some faith and support this kind of game with a pre-purchase!"

Might as well cancel the install.

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Contact Valve and ask for a refund. The game is in a bad enough state that there's a good chance they'll grant it.

Actually, the hardcore fans (who are somewhat the target audience of the game) are for the most part happy with their purchase. Me including. Biggest ire are some of the streamlining issues (the devs removed spells that had no effect and combined some skills). I guess people are no longer used to shoddy releases. Having played just about any 90s RPG, I find the issues manageable. Arcanum was worse on release. Fallout 2 equally bad. Not to mention all those forgotten pieces like Birthright and whatnot.

The game should have stayed away from Steam for now, however. There are still a lot of technical issue that the average gamer rightfully can take issues with. And this isn't a 2013 game. This is a late 90s game. But that is good enough for the fans.

The fans have a positive outlook on things, as do I.

And the game has sold (surprisingly) well. So that means enough money for the devs to keep working. Especially as this shows the demand is there (which is quite surprising for most).

I'm so depressed. Came here on a whim while I wait for the game to install (bought it before it came out). Why was I so stupid to purchase this? I was happily enjoying Shadowrun Returns and thought, "yay, another tactical, turn-based RPG, and heck, I never did play the originals when they first came out! I'll have some faith and support this kind of game with a pre-purchase!"

Might as well cancel the install.

Click to expand...

Contact Valve and ask for a refund. The game is in a bad enough state that there's a good chance they'll grant it.

Click to expand...

I will do that. I think even if the bugs were fixed and the game were in English, it would still be an absolute shambling monstrosity. I guess it will be a fun trainwreck for people to review, though. (You know, those reviews that become must-reads just because the game is so horrendously, hilariously poorly put together.)

I fumbled through the title screens, managed to figure out which icon to click to leave the temple of the undecipherable name, saw a woman with no neck talking to a man who looked worse than a giant-sized, same-poly character from the first 3D Populous (PSOne-era), heard my walking steps echo loudly on the grass, watched the trees wiggle wildly as the frame-rate shuddered, and managed to quickly find the exit icon and uninstall.

It would have been so nice to play an actual, decent remake. I wouldn't care if the character graphics were bad if the rest worked... :/

And the game has sold (surprisingly) well. So that means enough money for the devs to keep working. Especially as this shows the demand is there (which is quite surprising for most).

Click to expand...

That only means the devs can stop giving a fuck.

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It doesn't have to be the case, if "sold (surprisingly) well" mean well enough to make a remake for part 2 and 3 attractive.

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The lead dev has been dropping hints about offering more classes from the PnP rule set in the future. My guess is that they're going to offer new content as paid DLC; the devs make 99% of their money through browser game cash shops already.

They also promise daily patches for the next month, which makes no sense for a cash grab in the traditional sense of the word.